Associate Professor Derek Abbott worked for 9 years at the GEC Hirst Research Centre, London, on infrared and visible image sensors. He has worked with both novel and standard technologies including nMOS, CMOS, CCD, SOS, GaAs and vacuum microelectronics.

He has been with the University of Adelaide since 1987 and is an Associate Professor within the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

He has also been a consultant to various UK and Australian defense and industry organizations. His current research interests are in the areas of VLSI, GaAs, photodetectors, smart sensors, imaging devices, device physics and noise.